Thank you Francis for another thoughtful column. It's an interesting question. In some of the koryu the commitment is very serious from the beginning. Prospective students might almost be discouraged from starting. But most people start martial arts without thinking too deeply about it. For some students aikido will resonate deeply and they will grow into the commitment naturally and imperceptibly.

Niall

we can make our minds so like still water, and so live for a moment with a clearer, perhaps even with a fiercer life
w b yeats